Hot News : Jim Thome, Three True Outcomes King - update.
Last night Jim Thome, recently acquired by Baltimore, made history, breaking a record previously held by Barry Bonds. Before that this record belonged to Reggie Jackson, and before that, to Babe Ruth. That is impressive company for any man to keep, yet no one seems to have noticed this momentous occasion. Perhaps that's because it happened after most of the country was in bed, or perhaps (and more likely) it's because no one but me was paying any attention to this particular bit of baseball history. But whether anyone but me knew it or not, Jim Thome became baseball's all-time "three true outcomes" leader.The three true outcomes for any plate appearance are the strikeout, the walk, and the home run. They are the possible outcomes that involve only the hitter and pitcher (give or take a catcher to throw the ball back). The term was coined during the 1980s in reference to seemingly every appearance by Rob Deer going one of those three ways.
Thome has also had a knack for all three of the outcomes during his career, he is currently 2nd all-time in strikeouts, 7th in walks, and tied for 7th in home runs. Add his totals up, and as I said, he is #1. Here is a list of the top twenty three true outcomes (TTO) players in baseball history (all numbers are through July 5, 2012):
| Player | SO | BB | HR | TTO | PA | TTO% |
1 | Jim Thome* | 2516 | 1735 | 609 | 4860 | 10219 | 47.56 |
2 | Barry Bonds | 1539 | 2558 | 762 | 4859 | 12606 | 38.55 |
3 | Reggie Jackson | 2597 | 1375 | 563 | 4535 | 11418 | 39.72 |
4 | Rickey Henderson | 1694 | 2190 | 297 | 4181 | 13348 | 31.33 |
5 | Babe Ruth | 1330 | 2062 | 714 | 4106 | 10620 | 38.66 |
6 | Mickey Mantle | 1710 | 1733 | 536 | 3979 | 9907 | 40.16 |
7 | Mike Schmidt | 1883 | 1507 | 548 | 3938 | 10062 | 39.14 |
8 | Sammy Sosa | 2306 | 929 | 609 | 3844 | 9896 | 38.84 |
9 | Alex Rodriguez | 1990 | 1202 | 642 | 3834 | 10968 | 34.96 |
10 | Harmon Killebrew | 1699 | 1559 | 573 | 3831 | 9833 | 38.96 |
11 | Ken Griffey Jr. | 1779 | 1312 | 630 | 3721 | 11304 | 32.92 |
12 | Manny Ramirez | 1813 | 1329 | 555 | 3697 | 9774 | 37.82 |
13 | Carl Yastrzemski | 1393 | 1845 | 452 | 3690 | 13992 | 26.37 |
14 | Fred McGriff | 1882 | 1305 | 493 | 3680 | 10174 | 36.17 |
15 | Willie Mays | 1526 | 1464 | 660 | 3650 | 12496 | 29.21 |
16 | Frank Thomas | 1397 | 1667 | 521 | 3585 | 10075 | 35.58 |
17 | Hank Aaron | 1383 | 1402 | 755 | 3540 | 13941 | 25.39 |
18 | Bobby Abreu | 1806 | 1445 | 286 | 3537 | 9861 | 35.87 |
19 | Frank Robinson | 1532 | 1420 | 586 | 3538 | 11742 | 30.13 |
20 | Mark McGwire | 1596 | 1317 | 583 | 3496 | 7660 | 45.64 |
Just missing that list is a man who will likely force his way on before the end of July, Adam Dunn, who is currently at 3457 TTO and collecting all three components at a very high clip this season. He could move as high as 16th before the end of the season and could very well break the record himself one day. The last column in the above chart represents the percent of each player's career plate appearances that ended in one of the TTO. These 20 players averaged close to 11,000 PA, which is a very high number, and you'll notice that their TTO% range from Thome's 47.56 down to Aaron's 25.39. There's something to be said for compiling big numbers, and all 20 players here are among the best hitters in history, but there's also something to be said for tallying numbers at a high rate, even if you don't play as long. So, here are the 20 highest TTO% in history (minimum of 3,000 career PA):
| Player | SO | BB | HR | TTO | PA | TTO% |
1 | Russell Branyan | 1118 | 403 | 194 | 1715 | 3398 | 50.47 |
2 | Adam Dunn | 1936 | 1131 | 390 | 3457 | 6912 | 50.01 |
3 | Mark Reynolds | 1032 | 366 | 165 | 1563 | 3130 | 49.94 |
4 | Rob Deer | 1409 | 575 | 230 | 2214 | 4513 | 49.06 |
5 | Jim Thome | 2516 | 1735 | 609 | 4860 | 10219 | 47.56 |
6 | Ryan Howard | 1207 | 540 | 286 | 2033 | 4409 | 46.11 |
7 | Carlos Pena | 1396 | 737 | 271 | 2404 | 5255 | 45.75 |
8 | Mark McGwire | 1596 | 1317 | 583 | 3496 | 7660 | 45.64 |
9 | Mickey Tettleton | 1307 | 949 | 245 | 2501 | 5745 | 43.53 |
10 | Pat Burrell | 1564 | 932 | 292 | 2788 | 6520 | 42.76 |
11 | Jay Buhner | 1406 | 792 | 310 | 2508 | 5927 | 42.31 |
12 | Gorman Thomas | 1339 | 697 | 268 | 2304 | 5486 | 42.00 |
13 | Brad Wilkerson | 947 | 492 | 122 | 1561 | 3753 | 41.59 |
14 | Danny Tartabull | 1362 | 768 | 262 | 2392 | 5842 | 40.94 |
15 | Don Lock | 776 | 373 | 122 | 1271 | 3116 | 40.79 |
16 | Jose Canseco | 1942 | 906 | 462 | 3310 | 8129 | 40.72 |
17 | Jayson Werth | 908 | 449 | 143 | 1500 | 3701 | 40.53 |
18 | Mickey Mantle | 1710 | 1733 | 536 | 3979 | 9907 | 40.16 |
19 | Troy Glaus | 1377 | 854 | 320 | 2551 | 6355 | 40.14 |
20 | Brad Hawpe | 796 | 425 | 124 | 1345 | 3369 | 39.92 |
These are perhaps the truest TTO players, and you can see that both Thome and Dunn are among the very greatest. Dunn or Mark Reynolds could each pass Branyan's percentage someday. Only three of these 20 players began their career before the last 30 years (Mantle, Lock, and Thomas), so clearly TTO have climbed and climbed in frequency, and both of these lists are likely to see many changes over the next decade.
Today though, let us celebrate Jim Thome. Long live the king.
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